The image originated with the formation of the Mercedarian Order in the 13th century when Mary was said to appear on the same night to their founder, St. Peter Nolasco; to St. Raymond of Peñafort; and to the king of Aragon. She urged them all to save the many Christians who had been enslaved by Moors and were in danger of succumbing to forced conversion. Peter then established an order dedicated to the Virgin as she had appeared to him, under the name Our Lady of Mercy (Butler, I, 185-6).
The multitude of people beneath the mantle usually appear to be serious middle-class Christians, royals, or nuns and monks. In the closely related Notre Dame de Bon Secours they are angels. In a fresco in Padua they are souls in Purgatory. In one Austrian fresco they are naked souls, so perhaps also supposed to be in Purgatory. A related image, Giordano's Madonna and Child and Souls in Purgatory (1650), has the Madonna and the souls, but without the encompassing mantle.
In some German and Austrian examples, Mary may be holding her son in her arms. This type is referred to as the Schutzmantelmadonna:
See the description page for the whole altar and further comments.
Prepared in 2016 by Richard Stracke, Emeritus Professor of English, Augusta University. Revised 2018-01-25.
HOME PAGE
Our Lady of Mercy, 15th century (See the description page)
This statue, also from the 15th century, dispenses with the angels. See the description page.
MORE IMAGES
- 14th/15th century: Painting with SS. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.
- 15th century (?): Painted panel in Orvieto cathedral.
- 1448-49: Strozzi and Torelli's Our Lady of Mercy in an initial "S" illustrates a gradual page with a Marian hymn.
DATES
- Feast day: September 24
NAMES
- Also known by the Italian term Madonna della Misericordia. In German as Schutzmaria or Maria Schutz In English sometimes as "Our Lady of Ransom."